


The Ulzzang

by cocoaseos (almightywrites)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College Student Johnny, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Seo Youngho | Johnny is a Sweetheart, Slow Burn, Ulzzang Johnny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-06 14:26:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17346875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/almightywrites/pseuds/cocoaseos
Summary: It's not every day the the boy of your dreams comments on all your photos.or,Johnny Seo is smart, handsome, and Instagram famous. So why does he have a crush on you?*on hiatus!*





	1. Prologue

You were convinced that Johnny Seo was the most handsome man in the world.

You’d decided this almost 3 months ago, when he first appeared on your Instagram timeline.

A tall boy with windswept dark hair and lightly sun kissed skin posing nonchalantly in the lobby of some high-end hotel in Seoul. Wearing a kelly green turtleneck, a plaid jacket, and one of the most tempting, attractive expressions you’d ever seen.

Eyes a little glazed over, you swiped through the rest of the photoset he’d posted. In the next photo, he was holding a brown beret in his hand and gazing into the distance. In the last photo, he’d placed the beret on his head and it sat there lopsided while he smiled like an angel, probably laughing at something the person holding the camera had said.

Needless to say, you followed him in less than minute.

From then on, you looked forward to seeing his username pop up in your feed. Your friends were concerned about you at first. Harboring a one-sided crush for someone miles away from you. Besides, your roommate Yewon had said, he was most definitely out of your league.

Of course Yewon was right. He had hundreds of thousands of followers. He modeled. He traveled. He had money, looks, clout- all things you lacked.

And besides you were a sensible person. You knew that @seojohnny95 wasn’t and never would be aware of your existence. And you were perfectly okay with that.

So you went on with your life. Waking up early, going to classes at uni, studying for your upcoming medical examinations, and occasionally checking your Instagram.

Today was a day like any other. You and Yewon left the dorms that morning and stopped at Starbucks from Americanos and banana bread. Then, it was off to your respective classes, meeting up for a quick lunch, then back to lectures.

You had picked up your phone in the middle of Accounting, just to check time. But when you looked at your homescreen, you almost choked. There it was, sitting amongst your other notifications like a cobra in a bouquet of flowers.

{1:45 p.m. : **@seojohnny95** left a comment on your photo!}

It was safe to say that everyone on the east side of the campus could hear you scream.


	2. Chapter 1

“You’re shitting me” was what Yewon said that night when you’d told her, with eyes wide in surprise and a mouth full of hot wings. The two of you were having a study session at her friend Yerin’s apartment off campus, and as host, Yerin provided the food- in the form of wings from a restaurant the three of you liked, and beer ice cold out the fridge.

The hostess herself was giving you a similar look of surprise, a half-eaten wing dangling from her hand. You glanced at her slightly unfocused eyes and knew right off the bat she was already tipsy.

“Did you say Johnny Seo commented on your photo? The Johnny Seo? 989.5k followers Johnny Seo? @seojohnny95? That Johnny Seo?” Yerin was shrieking now, the wing long forgotten, as she slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from just plain screaming in disbelief.

Yewon rolled her eyes at her friend’s antics. “Yerin, you have sesame glaze all over your lips.”

The elder girl yelped in embarrassment and swiped at her mouth with a sauce-covered hand in an effort to clean herself but ended up smearing more sauce on her face.

“Gosh, Yerin, you’re only making it worse. Just go to the bathroom. No, put the napkins down you’ll just get those sticky.” The two of you watched the girl all but sprint to the bathroom to wash her face.

“I swear, sometimes I can’t believe she’s supposed to be older than me,” Yewon grumbled, sticking a bit of celery in her mouth with chopsticks. “All she ever does is fool around.”

“At least she knows how to let loose sometimes,” you muttered. “Unlike some people.”

“I can let loose, for your information!” Yewon exclaimed, little celery bits flying from her mouth as she spoke. “Just because I’m not being totally ridiculous about this Jimmy Soo guy like you and Yerin doesn’t mean I don’t know how to ‘let loose.’”

“His name is Johnny Seo, Yewon,” you sighed. “And I’m not being ridiculous about it. I’m just...surprised, that’s all.”

Yerin reentered the room just in time to see Yewon rolling her eyes. “I just think you’re overreacting. He commented on one photo. So what? Anyone can comment on a photo.”

You snapped your fingers. “But that’s the thing. He didn’t just comment on one, he commented on all of them.”

The room got so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Yerin and Yewon were looking at you with the same dumbfounded expressions. You almost wanted to laugh at how ridiculous the situation was.

“He- are you sure?” Yerin gasped. Yewon scoffed and crossed her arms. “Proof or it didn’t happen.”

You shrugged your shoulders as if to say “Have it your way” and reached for your phone. You scrolled down to your Instagram notifications from earlier that day and clicked the “show more” option. 

{2:00 p.m. : @seojohnny95 left a comment on your photo!}

{1:53 p.m. : @seojohnny95 left a comment on your photo!}

{1:50 p.m. : @seojohnny95 left a comment on your photo!}

{1:47 p.m. : @seojohnny95 left a comment on your photo!}

{1:45 p.m. : @seojohnny95 left a comment on your photo!}

{1:45 p.m. : @seojohnny95 left a comment on your photo!}

You smirked at your friends gaping eyes and continued scrolling. “And that was just the first batch.”

“Okay!” Yewon barked, grabbing your wrist to halt your scrolling. “We get it. He commented on all your photos. But why? Did you read them yet?”

You breathed out deeply and turned off your phone, placing it face down on the table. “Well no, not yet.”

“Why?” Yerin screeched. “Aren’t even a little bit curious about what he said?”

You drummed your fingers on the table absentmindedly. “Well, yeah, but…”

“But what?” now it was Yewon’s turn to be frustrated. “You’ve been thirsting over this guy for like, half the semester. Now he’s aware of your existence and you’re acting like you couldn’t care less.”

“No, it’s not that. I’m just scared? I don’t know, what if I read the comments and I just…I don’t know, okay? I’m scared.”

Yewon narrowed her eyes. “Well I’m not. Give me your phone.”

“What? No! Why?”

“Since you won’t read them, I will. Give me your phone,” she repeated.  You pulled your phone closer to you and shook your head. “Make me.”

It was a childish move on your part, and a stupid one, because Yewon most definitely did make you. She had reached across the table in an instant and before you could get out another word she had you in a headlock whilst grabbing for your cell. Yerin, damn near wasted at this point, was giggling madly at your cries for help whilst lifting her 3rd can of beer to her lips, which were somehow covered in wing sauce again. 

“Now,” Yewon said a few minutes later, a smile adorning her face as she looked at your sulky expression from across the table. “Let’s read these comments.”  She typed in your passcode and you grunted in disapproval. You deeply regretted giving your password to her in the first place, but it was too late now. She always seemed to figure it out when you changed it, too, so it was no use trying to keep it a secret from her.

Yewon’s eyes lit up when she located your Instagram icon, and she whistled in disbelief. 

“46 notifications?” she mused. “I guess he really did comment on every photo.” A few taps on the screen. “Oh...okay, I’m gonna start looking at the comments.”

It was silent in the room, aside the sounds of your nervous breathing and Yerin smacking on chicken. You watched Yewon’s face carefully as she tapped through a few comments, but her expressions weren’t giving anything away. 

After about 5 minutes of silence, however, she snorted. “This Johnny guy is a total dork. And he might have a thing for you.”

“You’re lying,” you snapped, making grabby hands at your phone. “Gimme.”

But Yewon simply ignored you. “He left heart emojis in every single comment. Not just the basic red one, all the hearts. Even the sparkly one, ___. And those are serious. He’s just as thirsty for you as you are for him.”

“Please,” you scoffed. “It was probably just fanservice or something. I’m sure I’m not the only one who got comments from him.”

Now it Yewon’s turn to scoff at you. “I’m pretty sure you were.”

“And what makes you think that?”

“Read his most recent comment.” Yewon handed you the phone and you took it, cautiously, before looking at the screen.

This particular post was from that summer. You, Yerin, Yewon, and a couple of other friends had gone to the beach, You’d bought a pretty two-piece online and Yerin thought you looked so good in it it’d be a crime to not take pictures. 

You were hesitant to post such revealing photos at first but they turned out just fine, and it was a big step for you in terms of self-confidence to put yourself out there.

You scanned through the comments section until you saw Johnny’s username and took a deep breath before you read.

{ **seojohnny95** who are you, where do you live, why are you so fine, and how do you like your eggs cooked in the morning?}

You mouthed the words over and over again until they were meaningless shapes on your pursed lips. _This couldn’t possibly be real._

“This can’t possibly be real,” you said aloud, eyes flicking between Yerin and Yewon in disbelief. “Can it? Is it?”

Yewon rolled her eyes, and Yerin let out a huge belch and shrugged. “It appears it is. But the question is, what are you gonna do now?”

You opened your mouth to answer but immediately shut it. Truthfully you had no idea where to go from here. You’d never imagined that that man you admired so much would so much as skim your profile, let alone _comment_ on any of your pictures. And now that he had, what were you supposed to do? And what did it all mean?

But you kept those rampant thoughts in your head and gave Yerin and Yewon a simple shrug. “I don’t know.”

Yewon rose from her seat and slammed her palms on the table, brows furrowed and mouth set into a hard line. It was the closest thing to an angry face you’d ever seen Yewon make. She was almost always crescent eyes and apple cheeks but now she meant business.

“You may not know, but I do. For reasons unknown, this guy has taken an interest in you. So I have to ask, do you want to get to the bottom of this?”

You were nodding before she could even finish her sentence, and her lips quirked up at the corners. 

“Good, because I’m gonna need access to your Instagram account for a few more minutes.”

You cocked your head to the side, all the excitement leaving your body in an instant and replaced with a creeping sense of apprehension.

“W-what are you gonna do?” Yerin asked, her glazed-over eyes widened and jaw slack.

Yewon looked between the two of you, a mischievous smile taking over her features.

“ _We_ are gonna write Johnny a comment of our own.”


	3. Chapter 2

“Thanks again for taking these shots, Jae. You’re a miracle worker bro. Bless.”

Jaehyun, Johnny’s best friend (formally known as “the boy behind the camera”) shrugged his shoulders, his Nikon hanging from a thick strap around his neck. 

“It’s what I’m here for,” he said, running a hand through his freshly dyed hair. “But these angles are getting more intricate every week. One day I’m gonna actually break a bone doing these photoshoots. I don’t care if your jawline looks the best from a diagonal 120 degree angle. I put my body on the line for you man. I might actually start charging you.”

Johnny laughed at Jaehyun, which only made Jaehyun frown. But they both knew Jaehyun would never charge Johnny for any of the photos he took. 

Jaehyun had been shooting Johnny since they were in high school. What was originally supposed to be a semester photography project turned into something more long-term. 

Jaehyun liked taking pictures, and Johnny didn’t mind having his picture taken. People on the internet enjoyed looking at them. They had a good thing going, the two of them. Jaehyun got good exposure through Johnny’s Instagram and his photography career was really taking off.

And Johnny? He had his clout, his loyal followers, his Instagram money. He was a college student living comfortably and travelling the world. He had a perfect life, and the thousands of likes and comments he received on each of his pictures was proof that a lot of people agreed, but there was something missing.

He was actually quite lonely.

It was something Johnny didn’t want to admit at first, because he thought it couldn’t be true, that it didn’t make sense. But it did. In fact, it might’ve made a little too much sense.

Jaehyun wasn’t just Johnny’s closest friend, he was his only real friend. And although they spent a lot of time together, most of it was spent taking pictures, or posting pictures, or discussing plans for future pictures. 

It hadn’t always been like this, though. Once upon a time, Johnny had a life. Johnny went out with people and did things, not for the sole purpose of staging Instagrammable moments, but because he wanted to. It was like he’d sold a piece of himself when he became @seojohnny95. He was a robot now, living in an endless cycle of managing his schoolwork and his social media presence. There were no hobbies, no in-betweens.

Frankly, it was exhausting.

“Johnny were you listening? I asked if you wanted to take some more shots before the sun went down. I know you’re big on the whole ‘golden hour lighting’ thing and it looks like it’s gonna be dark soon.”

Johnny shook his head a couple times to a shoo away his wandering thoughts.

“No no no, I wanted to hang out with you today, not take more pictures. Besides, we haven’t talked talked in a while so I figured we could catch up over lunch.”

The two were currently seated at an outdoor table in front of a small Italian restaurant. Johnny always passed by it on his way to uni and he’d been meaning to try it but he didn’t want to go alone. Of course, he asked Jaehyun if he’d like to go there one day with him, to which Jaehyun had laughed because he said it felt like Johnny was asking him on a date, but he’d ultimately said yes. Jaehyun was never one to turn down free food.

A waiter came by to take their orders and left them fresh bruschetta and red wine. After menus had been collected and glasses were filled, the conversation flowed easily and the friends were trading tales with enthusiasm.

“So,” Jaehyun said, dimple popping as he pinned Johnny with a smug look. “Still stalking that one girl on Instagram?”

Johnny eyed his best friend warily over the rim of his half-empty glass. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Jaehyun chuckled. “And you know exactly what I’m talking about. I know you’re gonna try and play dumb so let’s cut the bullshit. I want answers.” 

Johnny didn’t speak, he only raised his glass to his parted lips and shrugged his shoulders. Jaehyun was grinning now, eyes sparkling with mirth.

“So you are! Spill it then. Did you slide into the DMs yet?”

“First of all, that was disgusting. Never say ‘slide into the DMs’ ever again, I mean it.” A grimace formed on Johnny’s face as he put down his now empty glass. “And to answer your question, I didn’t send her a DM. I’m not really sure if I will.”

“That’s probably for the best then. You’re pick-up lines are pretty shit anyways.” 

Johnny didn’t even have the heart to argue, because Jaehyun was correct. His social skills weren’t all that great, so his flirting skills? Basically nonexistent. It wasn’t like he got much practice anyway. In fact, it’d been years since Johnny was really romantically involved with anybody, and he wasn’t necessarily prone to having crushes.

But then there was you. You were the exception. He didn’t know if he’d call what he felt for you a crush but he knew one thing for certain. It was a feeling he’d never experienced before. 

He didn’t know what compelled him to tap on your profile, out of the hundreds of thousands of others that were listed under his ‘followers’ section, but once he had he couldn’t stop thinking about it- about you. Everything about you was captivating, and Johnny slowly found himself developing a soft spot for you. For you radiant smile, your blurry 3 a.m. selfies, the memes you’d post and tag your friends in with infinite laughing emojis and keyboards smashes as a caption.

He’d be lying if he said his heart didn’t stutter whenever your profile picture appeared as he scrolled through his feed, or that you weren’t always on his mind. He was dying to get to know you, only he didn’t have the courage to send you a message. 

Johnny’s silence didn’t go unnoticed by Jaehyun, who only gave his friend a knowing smile as he rested his cheek on his hand.

“You’re thinking about her.” 

“Pfft, no!” Johnny sputtered. “What makes you think that?”

“You had a stupid smile on your face. And there was this look in your eye, like the one that Taeil and Yuta give Sicheng. It’s disgusting.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Suuure,” Jaehyun sang with a smirk. “I just want to know when you’re going to make your move.”

Jaehyun’s statement hung in the air for a moment, taunting Johnny. He wondered for a moment whether or not he should tell Jaehyun that he had, in fact made his move. 

It hadn’t been the best move, admittedly. It was never a good thing when he got on social media after he’d had a few drinks, because he put his rational thought to bed and poured out everything he had on his mind in any way he could. When he woke up and saw the comments he’d left on your profile the day before while in his drunken state, he wanted to die of embarrassment. And if he knew if he told Jaehyun he’d be teased about it for months afterwards.

“You did something,” Jaehyun stated, matter-of-factly. “You’re too quiet, there something you’re not telling me. And don’t even try to lie, I know when you’re not telling the truth.”

A deep sigh. “I may or may not have left comments on her pictures yesterday.”

“How many pictures?”

“All… all of them?”

Jaehyun’s eyes went wide and he reached across the table to grasp Johnny’s hands. “Dude, what the hell? What compelled you to **—** ”

“I took home chicken to eat for lunch after my morning classes and I guess I had one too many beers with it.”

“Unbelievable,” Jaehyun muttered. “Stupid. That was unbelievably stupid.”

Johnny’s whole body stiffened, and he could feel his cheeks getting hot. “I know, I know, I’m a dumbass. But can we please, like _not_ talk about this right now?”

Jaehyun furrowed his eyebrows, his grip on Johnny’s hands tightening. “What? Why? You can’t just drop this bomb on me and not give me details. Are you gonna let me read them?”

“I just want to enjoy my meal without you bothering me about what I did- or didn’t write. And if I show them to you now you’re definitely gonna bother me. So no.”

“But Johnnyyyyyy,” Jaehyun whined, pink lips puckered into a pout. “Just let me read one.” 

“Jaehyun chill out, people are staring,” Johnny hissed through clenched teeth, pulling his hands from Jaehyun’s grip. “And stop pouting, please. The food’s here.”

Sure enough, their waiter was approaching their table, a tray of steaming hot food in one arm and a bottle of wine tucked in the other.

“Would either of you like to purchase the Nebbiolo you opened?” he politely asked after handing the two men their plates. Johnny immediately opened his mouth to say yes, but Jaehyun was cutting him off in an instant.

“I’ll be taking the wine home,” he said, not even attempting to hide the smirk on his face. “My friend here can’t hold his alcohol very well.” The waiter chuckled as he swiped Jaehyun’s card on a little machine he pulled from his apron pocket and promised to return with his receipt and the bill for the meal. Johnny was less than amused.

“First of all, fuck you. Now I’m definitely not telling you anything,” Johnny sneered, sticking his fork into his melanzane alla parmigiana. He didn’t know what the hell he was ordering when he picked it off the menu, but it turned out to be a spicy eggplant dish and he really liked it.

Jaehyun, on the other hand had gotten fettuccine alfredo, and now he was looking at Johnny’s plate with longing in his eyes.

“Can I,” he licked his lips. “Can I, uh, have bite?”

“Do you think you can have a bite?” Johnny bit back, and Jaehyun almost flinched. 

“I guess not,” he sighed, before twirling more pasta on his fork. “What time is it?”

Johnny reached for his phone while taking a sip from his water. He pressed his home button, took one look at his screen, and started choking.

“Bro are you good?” Jaehyun’s brows lifted in concern and he handed Johnny a linen napkin, which he gladly took and brought to his mouth to cover his coughs.

“No, not really,” he said, a little hoarsely after he’d regained his breath. “___ just sent me a DM.”

Now it was Jaehyun who couldn’t breathe. “Wait, ___? Instagram ___?” 

“Yes Jaehyun, that ___. But I don’t know if should read it.”

Jaehyun dropped his fork onto his plate with a loud clang and gave Johnny a look that could kill. “Why not?”

“Are we forgetting the fact that I spent majority of yesterday spamming her with comments? Drunk comments, might I add. She’s probably weirded out and uncomfortable right now.” 

“We won’t know how she’s feeling until you open the message, you coward. Do it now.”

“Okay,” Johnny took a deep breath before unlocking his phone. “I’m going in.”

Jaehyun rolled his eyes. “You’re so dramatic,” he said, picking his fork back up and slurping the warm pasta into his mouth. “But for real, tell me what it says.”

Johnny was stared at his phone in silence for a few moments. A look of confusion passed over his face before he cracked smiled. Then a small snicker slipped from his lips. After a few seconds he was cachinnating, eyes almost closed as he slapped a hand over his mouth to muffle his bellowing laughs.

“Johnny, what the hell did she say?”

Johnny looked up at Jaehyun, wiping a tear from his eye while fought the urge to scream in happiness.

“Scrambled,” he said, and he couldn’t control the elated whoop he let out afterwards. “She likes her eggs scrambled.”


End file.
